Dr. Ing.

Nabil Motosh
Load Distribution on Threads of
Faculty of Engineering,
Assiut University, Egypt
Titanium Tension Nuts and Steel Bolts

1 Introduction to the difference in the elastic deformation of bolt and nut, the
bolt being subjected to tensile and the nut to compressive strain-
Experience shows that about 65 percent of bolt failure cases in ing. He calculated the load distribution, taking into consideration
bolted connections occur at the first thread turn in contact be- the bending and shear deformations of threads, but neglecting the
tween bolt and nut. Many investigators tried to explain this phe- deformation of the nut body, and came to the conclusion that the
nomena by calculating the load distribution between thread turns first turn in contact is the most heavily loaded turn.
and proving that the first turn in contact is supposed to carry Zhukovski [2], simplifying the problem, showed that for a stan-
much more of load than successive turns. It is believed that the dard compression nut the load is distributed according to a geo-
first turn is subjected to about 35 percent of the total bolt load metrical progression, diminishing upwards from the first turn. In
and that successive turns carry steadily decreasing load, so that this case, on loading up to the elastic limit, the principal part of
the 5th turn is practically unloaded. It can easily be shown that the load is taken up by the first three turns of thread.
this result is erroneous, because if the contact pressure between Maduschka [3] extended the work of Jaquet and considered the
the helicoidal surfaces of threads is maximum at contact begin radial and axial deformation of the nut body, and came to the
and continues decreasing to the end this would mean that the re- following relation:
sultant of contact pressure does not coincide with bolt axis. Thus,
a tightened bolt would be subjected also to bending which is not Pn = Pn-\ ~ a-{P - ( / > ! + p2 + . . . + />„_l)}
plausible. Therefore, if the load on turns diminishes upwardly
from the bearing surface of the nut, it must—after reaching a
minimum value—start increasing again, to get a total reaction
coinciding with bolt axis.
Failure due to fatigue usually begins at first point of contact
because fatigue is a surface effect. To increase the fatigue
strength of bolted connections, many nut constructions are devel-
oped in an attempt to get a uniform load distribution between
threads and relieve the first turn from excessive loading. This
could be achieved, for example, by using tension nuts, in which
the nut has a bearing surface situated in the plane of the top
turns of thread, so that both nut and bolt are subjected to tensile
deformations. It was also expected that when nuts are made of
duralumin, silumin and other materials having a lower modulus
of elasticity than steel, the distribution of forces in the turns of
thread becomes more uniform.
In this work, the pressure distribution between thread turns for
a tension titanium nut—as it is extensively used in the aircraft
industry—is calculated.

2 Previous Work
Jaquet [l] 1 was the first to notice that the load in a bolted con-
nection, with a usual standard compression nut, is not uniformly
distributed between thread turns on the engagement length, due

1
Numbers in brackets designate References at end of paper.
Contributed by the Design Engineering Division of The American Soci-
ety of Mechanical Engineers for publication in JOURNAL OF ENGINEER-
ING FOR INDUSTRY. Manuscript received at ASME Headquarters Janu-
ary 30,1974. Paper No. 74-DE-N. Fig. 1

162 / FEBRUARY 1975 Transactions of the ASME

Copyright © 1975 by ASME
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 P,-»P?+-••+ fulfil]
a * 2j
J___
Pfn_4 Pfn-< Prn-tPrn-i
n,n-i n,n-i

{ P, * P, •..-.+fjp«£fl.} P.{P, + P 1+ ... + f^. 4 ^J

a
°* TRoFo?)

ff (Ppn^Prn-.)|(Do/D^i,

Jp,->P1+...+_fiL-\ p. I p, • p,,..^)

i — p
pn

{Pi •P|*"'»-PjP-J
—*
%
r
rn"

P-fp.-P,*--^}

°rn _ . Prn
r
Tr.Dff.h TI.dff. h

r (Do/Dff^+i 1
rn
O ff , h [ (D 0 / D ff )'-i °V s or-

Fig. 2

whereby: P = total bolt load; p\, P2, . . . and pn are the loads on cylinder with external diameter = Do, and internal diameter
the first, second, . . . and nth turn; a is a factor depending upon equal to the stress diameter given by:
the elastic properties of bolt and nut.
Birger [2] assumed that the stressed condition of a thread turn Da = (l/2)-{D
core "*" -^flanki
is analogeous to that of a wedge-like strip under the effect of a
The bolt will also be idealized to a cylinder with external diame-
uniform load distribution, and that normal stresses in the cross
ter equal to its stress diameter:
section of bolt and nut are distributed uniformly. The load on
each turn is to be calculated by integrating the following equation d„ = (l/2)*{d core + d„ ank }
over the corresponding pitch: To determine the deformations due to loading, the nut will be
p(y) = K-P-ch(K-y)/sh(K'm) thought as divided into m elementary cylindrical elements by
where: if is a coefficient depending upon the elastic properties of radial planes distanced by the pitch h, Fig. 1. L e t p i , P2, . . . and
bolt and nut; m is the height of nut; y = 0 at free surface of nut. Pn be the loads on the first, second, . . . and nth, turn, respective-
Kolenchuk [2] substituted circular plates for the screw thread ly. As the flanks remain in contact during loading [4], we have:
and considered the connection of the bolt-nut pair as a plane A A
"K-Un (1)
4»,1,= V . + "^l,
problem, and derived a system of catenary canonical equations
for calculating the loads. whereby:
Paland [4] contributed to the work of Madushka and consid- Ara n -i,ii = relative change in pitch between nut and bolt
ered the effect of bending of nut body on load distribution for threads due to axial deformations.
compression nuts. He found that this effect is of extreme impor- &'hn-Xn = the change due to radial deformation of nut and
tance and should not be neglected in the calculations. bolt elements.
A"ra n _i,„ = the change due to bending of threads.
3 Determination of Load Distribution Between A ' " n n - i , n = the change due to bending of nut body.
Thread T u r n s In the following, we try to calculate each of these components
Regarding deformations, the nut will be idealized to a hollow separately.

..Nomenclature.
D0 = outer diameter of nut h =
pitch p =
radial deformation
equivalent cylinder m =
height of nut a =
thread helix angle
Do = internal diameter of nut P =
total bolt load v =
Poisson's ratio
equivalent cylinder Pi =
load on the ith turn
"B" and "N" =
indices for bolt and nut,
d„ = diameter of bolt equiva- Oy o>, vt =
axial, radial, and tangen-
lent cylinder tial stresses respectively respectively
E = modulus of elasticity x = half thread angle At = coefficients

Journal of Engineering for Industry F E B R U A R Y 1975 / 163

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 Pn-l = (Pir)n-l ~ (PB)«-1
we get:
*'K-\,n = (P„-i - P n ) - t a n x
(4)
= A4-/>„ + A 5 -p„.!
where:
tan*0 , . tan2i/> . f (On/D.)' + 1 ,,i
4
~ 2-Es'u-h

V.j 1 £>„
rr ^ d , 2 V W - Da*)}

tan 2 tan 2 0 (fl /J>„)2 + 1

A,=^^2'E 'n-h -a - •>>> 2-E„-ir-h
B
c0 n / ^ -T 1: + *)
^ £ r -lf (£>„/»*)
D
Z./_JL °- ;}
+ +
J7 ' ^ - d , JE#-(C02 - D 0 2
(5)
6 C a l c u l a t i o n of A "hi -1,«
As the modulus of elasticity of nut material is lower than that
of bolt steel, the point of contact between every two turns will be
shifted away from the pitch line, as shown by the point c at the
nth pair, Fig. 3.
The positions of cn—as given by Xn—can be determined from
the condition that the surface slopes for bolt and nut turns at cn
must be equal.
Each turn will be considered as a cantilever beam. Generally,
Fig. 3
we have for the elastic line:
4 C a l c u l a t i o n of Ahi-i.n d2y _ _M_
The forces on the element n — 1,refor both bolt and nut are shown dK1 ~ E-I
in Fig. 2. Generally the axial deformation for each element will be The slopes can be obtained by integrating this equation consid-
given by: ering the respective values of M and / for bolt and nut turns, and
u = {h/E)-{ay -v(ar + a,)} that:

where: ay, ar, and at are the axial, the radial, and the tangential at,= -rll(f) 0
stresses, respectively; E is the modulus of elasticity and v is Pois-
son's ratio for the material. at x=T2, (%) =0
Substituting for ay, at, and o> their respective values for bolt and
nut elements, we get: This integration yields:
A
^ n - l , n = ( M fl)n-l,n ~ M n - l . n ,dy. 12-cos a ,, r .

= Ai'P + A2-(pn + />„_i) + A3-(Pi + p2 + . . . + p„_2)

(2)
dx N vd2'EN
The coefficients Ai, A2, and A3 are functions of geometrical and where:
material properties as follows: 1
/H1 =
~ 4-tan </) "•ill(Hm - 2-tan ip-xf H^
A i
= n-En-dJ
'B"v P r Hm 1
2-H
2
" 4-tan2 tj) •{•x2-(Hm - 2 - t a n 4>-x)'1 (Hm - 2-tan tp-x)
A, =
it h T + E^D^-DJ) }
(3)
vtan tp 1 1 (D n /A,) 2 + 1 2-Hmi
EB-da 2-EN-D (D0/Dj l
- 1
}
h3 =
~ 4-tan z lT X
2-{H„ + 2-tan ifi-xY H + 2-tan 4>-x
i'h.f 1 1 1
IT ' x
EB-dal 2
EN-(D0 - A / ) - > •

2-H, u
The indices B and N are used for bolt and nut, respectively, x is
half the thread angle. 4
p-x
4-tan ip l 7 v•a 1
(Hm + 2-tan ip-x)2
5 C a l c u l a t i o n of A 'hi _ i,„ 12 cos a
K<
The forces on the element n for hQth bolt and nut are given in ir-d2'EB ~ " U i -h\x=-Tt
Fig. 2. For the radial deformation we have: _ 12 cos a
Kn Hl^r,
ifd-E„
P = J^'{°t -v(ar+ 0-,)}
To determine the value of X corresponding to a certain value of
With p, (dy/dx)s and (dy/dx)u at the surfaces of flanks in contact are
Pn = (PAT)„ " (P B )„ drawn against X; the intersection of these two curves gives the re-

164 / FEBRUARY 1975 Transactions of the ASME

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 quired value of X.
We can thus get a relation between p and A that can be ap-
proximated to: = A6.n-pn-Ae.„A-p„.i (6)
+ a
X = a0 i'P where the coefficients Ae-,n and A 6; n - 1 are functions of Xn and
Xn - 1, respectively, and hence also of the loads pn and pn - i:
For every bolt-nut combination, the coefficients a0 and Oi are to
be obtained graphically. 12-cos a r 1 ffm + 2-tani/i-X
Ks'
Integrating the equations for the slopes, considering the boun- wd^E„ "'-8-tan 3 ip • {
dry conditions:
H
at x=-Ti yB=0 - +ln
at x = T 2 yN = 0
2(Hm + 2-tan i/i-X) # m + 2-tan i/i-X *rJ
and t h a t : 2-tan >p-X-Hm 1
8 •tan'' ;/) #m # m + 2-tan i/)-X}]
J

at x > x yN = (yA*\ + (A - * H ^ ) (7)

N,x=\ 12-cos a-A
we get, considering Fig. 3: 7r-rf2-£w U - t a n 2 ip •{7
l
2(Hm + 2-tan i/cX)2
1 1
- l X r 1
+
Hm + 2-tan ip • X 2-HJ 4-tan ib' X1U
1
T}] -K2'(X+ l)-ff4'
( # m + 2-tan i/)-X)
The integration constants are given by:
12-cosar />-X ; 2 - t a n ip-Tx -Hm
K,~=K,-T,
Tfd^Ez 8 •tan'* ;/; #„
1 1 p jir + 2-tan ^i-T^
# m + 2-tan <P-Ti ' 8-tan 2 0 * l 2-J?m
#„ ffm
v f In
2(Hm + 2-tan i/i-TO # m + 2-tan ty'T^J

12-cos a r ft f g „ + 2-tan

+ In
tfm + 2 t a n *-T 2
}-
2(Hm + 2 t a n i/i-T2)

ft-X f2-tan i/)-T2 -Hm 1_

,{- TH
Hm + 2-tan i/)-T I
8-tan/ty Hm 2

Kt' = K{/p. « = 1 , 2 , 3 , and 4

7 C a l c u l a t i o n of A ' " / ^ - L n
Consider the bending of the nut body under the action of the
resultant thread load and the bearing reaction, assumed to be
uniformly distributed over the circumference of a circle of radius
Rf.
For the element shown in Fig. 4(a), the bending moment is
given by:
dM = dp's = P'(d<p/2"n)-s
The total bending moment about the AA axis is thus:
„"72
M. 2-J s i n <p-dM= P's/ir

This moment results in tangential stresses in nut body. With pm

as the mean radial deformation due to nut bending, Ix as the mo-
ment of inertia of nut axial cross section about the neutral axis
xx, and y measured from that axis, the tangential stresses will be
given by:
MAAy _ EN-pm
QtAA —

rm-P-s-y
Thus: Pm =
wEir'Ix
r'P-s'h
and: A
P r , - l , „ = ( P j n - i ~(Pm)n =

DIMS. IN &'"hn - 1, „ can thus be written:

A
MMS ^'"hn-i,n= P„-i,r,-tan $
Fig. 5 = AB-P (8)

Journal of Engineering for Industry FEBRUARY 1975 / 165

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 where:
Birger
Aa =
rm*s-fe'tan ip (9) 0.9-

0.8-
8 Determination of Load Distribution:
Substituting Ah, A'h, A"h, and A'"h in equation (1), we get: \ /
07- / Proposed theory
Pn-(A2 -At -Ae,.n)+p^'(Az -As -A6.„.t) +
\ I Tens ,-Ntenium- m\
0.6
\ 1 Compressbn-
(Pi + Pi + • • • + /Va)-C4 3 )
J sreel-nw M10
0.S' \
+ p-{Ai -Aa 0 (10)
0.4-
\
Equation (10) can now be written for the thread turns 2, . . ., n,
. . ., m; where m is the total number of turns in contact. Together
with the condition that P = p i + . . . + pm we get a system of
equations sufficient for determining the values of plt . . ., pm. As
the coefficients Ae and A-j are functions of pn and pn - i, respec-
tively, iteration will be used, starting from p = P/m for all turns.
*|E

0.2'
\v \

\
\ v Maduschka

W
0.1-
9 Example
As an example the titanium tension nut shown in Fig. 4(b) is 0 40 50
chosen. The coefficients At are calculated from equations (3), (5), 20 30
(7), and (9), by substituting the geometrical characteristics of the P *
chosen nut. With these coefficients determined, equation (10) is
solved as explained previously. The resulting load distribution on Fig. 6
the threads of this nut is given in Fig. 5. For comparison the load
distribution in a compression steel nut of the same thread dimen-
sions is plotted, as calculated by Birger and Maduschka. References
1 Jaquet, E "Ueber eine neuartige Schraubenverbindungen," Ing. Arch.
10 C o n c l u s i o n 1931(2).
2 Yakushev, A. I., "Effect of Manufacturing Technology and Basic
A method is given for calculating the load distribution on Thread Parameters on the Strength of Threaded Connections," Pergamon
threads in contact, when the bolt and nut are made of different Press, 164.
materials. Using tension nuts of materials having a lower modu- 3 Maduschka, L., "Beanspruchung von Schraubenverbindungen und
lus of elasticity than bolt steel results in a uniform distribution of zweckmaessige Gestaltung der Gewindetraeger," Forschung auf dem. Ge-
biet des Ingenieurwesens, 1936(7).
load on thread turns. Thus for important applications, as in the 4 Paland E. G., "Untersuchungen ueber die Sicherungseigenschaften
aircraft industry, tension nuts made of such materials as titani- von Schraubenverbindungen by dynamischer Belastung," Diss. TH, Han-
um are to be recommended. nover, 1966.

166 / FEBRUARY 1975 Transactions of the ASME

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